Aster Jones, Held Together With Tape, Completes Triple; Josiah Tostenson-Tayvon Kitchen Duo Take Final Bows; Grant Valley Powers Jesuit Boys To Title; Iman Foster Leads Jesuit Girls; Campbell Brintnall (6A girls), Rasean Jones (4A boys) Shine In Hurdles; Bodey Lutes Runs Electric Relay Leg; Chloe Huyler Rules Girls Distance

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Becky Holbrook photos

INTERVIEWS

EUGENE -- In her first of three races on Saturday, Aster Jones of Roosevelt took the baton in the 4x100 relay and flew to the finish line in 47.30. 

But she also paid a price and the twinge she felt in her left hamstring became an issue she had to manage for the rest of the day on Saturday at the OSAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. 

Jones got treatment between races, got the leg taped, and kept performing. She won the 100 meters in a personal best time of 11.51 seconds and then gingerly got through the 200 meters, winnning that too, in 23.95.

"I made it through. That's all that matters," Jones said when it was over. "I kind of thought about not doing (the 200), but I knew there was a really high chance I was going to do it anyway."

The 6A boys sprints were a showcase for Jesuit's breakout star, Grant Valley, who was home with a broken leg last year. 

Valley ran a personal best time of 10.36 to win the 100 meters and then tore through the 200 in 21.15 to break meet records in both races, dipping under performances by Oregon legend Micah Williams. On top of that, he anchored Jesuit's 4x100 to second place and then split 47.5 on the anchor of 4x400 to bring the Crusaders the victory in 3:17.36, one of the fastest times in state history. 

"It's a dream come true," Valley said after breaking the 100 meters record. "I've always wanted to break the meet record, a state record. It feels pretty insane."

Jesuit swept the Class 6A titles. The boys slipped past Lincoln in the 4x400 to win with 66 points to the Cardinals' 62. 

Iman Foster won the triple jump wth 39-11.75, to go with a second place in the long jump, and helped the 4x100 place second in 47.64. 

Another breakout athlete this spring, Tualatin senior Campbell Brintnall, ran close to all-time state bests in both hurdles events. Brintnall sped through the 100 hurdles prelims on Friday in 13.98 and won the final in 14.18, pulling away from Ida B. Wells' Avery Coker (14.37). 

In the 300 hurdles, Brintnall won the final in 42.30. 

"In the off-season she committed to the weight room and she got a lot stronger," Tualatin coach Hashim Hall said. "Her attention to detail is one of the best I've ever seen. You give her something to do and she learns it almost immediately, which to me is pretty remarkable."

Lakeridge senior Chloe Huyler was a dominant figure in the girls distance finals. She broke Chloe Foerster's meet record in the 6A 1,500 final with 4:23.89, winning that race by more than five seconds. 

Earlier, she won the 3,000 meters in 9:25.01, taking down a Kate Peters meet record. Huyler won that one by almost 24 seconds. 

In the final act for the sensational Crater High duo, Josiah Tostenson and Tayvon Kitchen went 1-2 in a Class 5A 1,500 meters final that went out a bit slow from the gun to wipe away record potential. Tostenson ran 1:56 for his final 800 meters and broke away from Kitchen in the final 200 to win in 3:48.63. Kitchen was second in 3:51.10 and a group of 10 finshed under four minutes. It was Tostenson's third 1,500 meters state title. 

Tostenson returned to the track for the 800 meters and won that in 1:52.19. 

"I've had so many great moments and so many terrible moments at the state meet," Tostenson said. "First places and last places. It's going to be a sad drive home but I'm thankful for everything that happened I'm looking forward to the future now."

He dedicated the effort to his father, who made it to the meet to watch in spite of his Parkinson's syndrome. 

"He dragged himself up here in a wheelchair, watched both races. That's my driving motivation right there," Tostenson said. "Without him I wouldn't be here today. He's pushed me every all the way through the sport. I wanted to come out here and do it for him, for sure."

A tectonic shift in the track and field powers in Bend this spring resulted in Summit falling behind the new player in town, Caldera. The Wolfpack swept the Class 5A team titles. 

The Caldera boys scored 80 points without any wins, but got seconds from Waylon Clarke in the 100 and Mason Morical in the 3,000. 

Caldera's girls scored 70 points, won the 4x400 relay (3:53.62) and James Heinly won the triple jump (36-8.50).

Marshfield's Bodey Lutes was another standout, delivering two of the most stirring moments of the weekend. Lutes, who recently picked up the 800 meters, ran a state-leading time of 1:50.24 to win the 4A title. Then he split an amazing 45.8 on the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay. SIDEBAR STORY

Baker's Rasean Jones ran a state-leading time of 37.03 to win the Class 4A 300-meter hurdles for a meet record and also won the 110 hurdles in a personal best time of 13.84w. 

In one of the most stunning moments on the track, Brooklyn Anderson from Thurston built a big lead in the Class 5A girls 100 hurdles clipped the final barrier and completed two somersaults on the track in order to reach the finish line first in 14.93 seconds. The first roll happened naturally as she fell to the track. The second one she did on purpose, falling back on her previous gymnastics training, to keep her momentum going until she crossed the finish line. 

Also in Class 5A, Churchill pole vaulter Addison Kleinke won her third consecutive state title with a clearance at 12-6 after waiting two hours to come into the competition. She missed twice at 13-5 before stopping. She owns the Oregon all-time best at 14-0.75. She also won the long jump.   

On Friday night to conclude the small schools portion of the meet, Siuslaw and Burns went toe to toe in the boys 4x400 relay in separate sections with the 3A team championship on the line. Siuslaw went first and broke the meet record when the Vikings ran 3:22.43. Burns went last and also ran under the record, clocking 3:22.64. The final team score was Siuslaw 89, Burns 88. 

Lindsay Talbot from Harper, a sophomore, won four events in the Class 1A meet: 200 meters (25.66), 100 hurdles (15.02), 300 hurdles (45.23) and triple jump (36-6.25). 

Team Champions -   

Class 6A - Jesuit boys 66 points, Jesuit girls 54.5 points - RESULTS

Class 5A - Caldera boys 80 points, Caldera girls 70 points - RESULTS

Class 4A - Crook County boys 78 points, Creswell girls 56 points - RESULTS

Class 2A - Delphian boys 84 points, Bandon girls 91 points - RESULTS

Class 1A - Damascus Christian boys 70 points, Imbler girls 71 points - RESULTS